Sunday, November 9, 2014

Lots has changed since a couple weeks ago. I am sixish hours from Merimbula, and have gone to Campbelltown near Sydney. I am with a great companion and am in a flat of four, far more interesting than just two.

This'll have to be short because I am out of time, but love you all, the church is true, and I love being a district leader.

Ofa atu,

Elder J. Cederlof

p.s. I told my mother more so she can explain my week.

Dear Mom,

My new area is actually just below Macarthur, in fact, we are in the same stake. I saw some of those members from Macarthur since this past week was stake conference. Since I am a district leader, I will be doing splits with Elder Gardner and we'll go to one of the members from Macarthur for dinner because they are within the Tongan missionaries area, and Elder Gardner is now learning Tongan and in the Tongan ward. He's a great missionary, and this will be a great opportunity for him to be able to learn and grow. My companion, Elder Hixson, knows Chinese, so I think I need to figure out something here. I am still wanting to learn Spanish so I'll definitely take a class in college if I can. As for the college that I want to attend, I am going for Utah State University. I feel that that is the best choice and peace comes to my mind when I chose that (just barely, which came being quite helpful). And so yeah with that one.

So I am currently enjoying the area. We are on foot so we won't be able to do as much as much, but our days have been effective and I love it here already. We have some investigators and less actives, so we aren't starting from scratch, and we had a cool opportunity to get a potential investigator when we were walking and a man was doing some gardening. I remembered how I need to be bold, and so I walked up and said hello, asked if he needed anything, and we got talking. He served in Vietnam and talked about how awful that experience was. We were in the end able to give him a pamphlet on the restoration and he said that we could stop by when he's home and not sleeping (when he has night shift). So that was pretty cool.

In regards to my new responsibilities as a district leader, I take record of the numbers of the results in the areas under me, which is ours and three others. I am suppose to have the ideal area and qualities, so yeah there'll be growth in that. I am enjoying it so far and had my first meeting with the missionaries I serve on Friday. I talked about the missionaries needing to have a conversion experience alongside their investigators, so they can testify with power and authority with the spirit because they have learned by experience, and are deepening their testimonies. I fasted before and it worked and it was great. I enjoy it. The hard part will be when I need to boldly chastise or reprove, but it must be done. I want to make sure that the missionaries know that I love them so the reprove will be out of love and they will see that. There are great examples of missionaries that emanate that quality, and it's cool to think that I could have that too. It would really help other missionaries.

Besides that there's not much. But yes I feel that I am meant to go to Utah State University according to the whisperings of the spirit, and of course if that is to change, I will let you know. Thanks for being an awesome mother, which I know you are. It even says so in my patriarchal blessing so the Lord thinks so too (it spoke of how I have the wonderful example of a righteous home due to you two). It is my deepest wishes and desires to make the two of you happy, and thanks for putting up with me for eighteen years of multiples flaws and weaknesses. I love you so much.